Potential Space War Between U.S., Russia, China Could Be Prevented?

A space war between Russia, China, and the United States could be prevented according to reports. (Photo : Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)

In the case of the latest science fiction films where extraterrestrials battle it out with humans in outer space, it is likely the same could happen in the future. However, rather than a space war with aliens, it could happen between countries namely the United States, Russia, and China.

According to reports, the US military is gearing up for a warfare in space which involve destructive lasers and kamikaze satellites. This scenario could most likely begin with a cyberattack which would disable satellites which would then lead to communication loss. All this was predicted in the documentary, "War in Space: The Next Battlefield."

"As humans go out there, there has always been conflict," stated Gen. John Hyten to CNN, who is the head of US Strategic Command, adding, "Conflict in the Wild West as we move in the West ... conflict in Europe for its horrible world wars. So, every time humans actually physically move into that, there's conflict, and in that case, we'll have to be prepared for that."

In the final frontier, US could be facing off with China and Russia, both of whom are chief adversaries. Russia has already deployed a supposed kamikaze satellite by the name of "Kosmos 2499." Even China has had their version of offensive space gear, the "Shiyan" satellites, that can easily pluck satellites from their orbit. In 2013, the Shiyan-7 satellite was one of three mysterious satellites launched by the country.

Due to the alleged "threats" from other countries, the US is gearing up as well. But could a space war be prevented? Officials at the Pentagon are reportedly creating space laws, specifically for when a satellite is destroyed.

"Much like the maritime laws that we have, they established over time by safe and responsible behaviors and patterns of life," stated Rear Admiral Brian Brown, adding, "That is something we are pushing for in a lot of different areas, so we don't have miscalculations in space."

Even the United Nations had set an Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which bans all orbital or moon-based weapons of destruction. The treaty also lays down the principle that no country could claim any celestial body found in space as their own. Such agreement has helped a foundation of peaceful cooperation for decades.

Yet, updated space laws could help in an international cooperation when it comes to space exploration and missions. Such updated space laws could greatly prevent a space war in the future.